Dhammapada Verse 136
The Story of the Boa Constrictor Peta
Once, as Thera Maha Moggallana was coming down the Gijjhakuta hill with Thera Lakkhana he saw a boa constrictor peta and smiled, but he did not say anything. When they were back at the Jetavana monastery, Thera Maha Moggallana told Lakkhana, in the presence of the Buddha about the boa constrictor peta, with its long body burning in flames. The Buddha also said he himself had also seen that very peta soon after he had attained Buddhahood, but that he did not say anything about it because people might not believe him and thus they would be doing a great wrong to the Buddha. So out of compassion for these beings, the Buddha had kept silent. Then he
